Willkie Picks Restructuring Partner Feldman as Joint Chairman

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has picked bankruptcy partner Matthew Feldman as its new joint chairman, with longtime leader Steven Gartner set to retire.

Feldman, who joined Willkie in 1991 and became a partner seven years later, is a member of the firm’s executive committee and co-chair of the business reorganization and restructuring department. He was chief legal adviser for the Obama administration’s restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.

Gartner, an M&A and private equity attorney, has been at Willkie more than three decades and led the firm with Thomas Cerabino since 2010. He internally announced his retirement in February, the firm said.

Like Gartner, Feldman will serve alongside Cerabino when he begins his new role Jan. 1.

“It’s an exciting next chapter for me,” Feldman said in an interview. “I’ve been part of leadership for a long time, but this is obviously the pinnacle.”

He’ll focus on building out the core practice areas of M&A, private equity, asset management, restructuring, and complex, bet-the-company litigation, he said. Stronger diversity and inclusion, and environmental, social, and corporate governance, are also priorities, Feldman said.

Navigating through the coronavirus pandemic is also a near-term priority, he said. “We need to take time and get to know each other and make sure we have not lost something through working from home.”

Cerabino said he expects the leadership transition to be “seamless,” given previous roles Feldman, who is based in New York, played in firm management.

Gartner, who joined Willkie in 1983 as a summer associate, said he plans to spend his retirement on pro bono and charitable work, along with spending time with his wife, four children, and three grandchildren.

After Gartner and Cerabino took over, the firm grew to about 750 lawyers from 550 and added offices in Houston, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Chicago, according to the firm.

“He has played a pivotal role in transforming Willkie into the firm we are today,” Cerabino said of the outgoing chairman.